Sky Sports pundit Jonny Nelson said Jake Paul had a “serious reality check” following his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua and said he doesn’t think he can ever reach a world-class level.
Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, struggled to hold down Paul in the early rounds in Miami, but ultimately ended the fight with a huge right hand in the sixth round. The victim suffered a broken jaw and required surgery.
Nelson, a former world cruiserweight champion, told Sky Sports News.
What did Paul learn from this battle?
“I think when he stood in the 22-foot ring, he realized the challenge in front of him.
“He saw the Adonis of the fighter, former world champion Anthony Joshua, in the opposite corner, and that’s when reality collided with fiction.
“Everything that was in his head, everything he thought he could do, went away, and as he slid out of the ring with his cornermen, he thought, ‘Wow, this is real.’
“Even a little jab that just kind of missed him, you could tell he was thinking, ‘What does this mean?’” So it was a case of survival or not, and to be honest, I didn’t want Joshua to knock him out. I thought, “This kid needs to see reality,” and he did.
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Sky Sports’ Jonny Nelson gives his thoughts on Anthony Joshua’s win over Jake Paul and says Paul’s knockout loss was a ‘reality check’ for Paul
“Boxing looks so easy on TV, it looks so easy in real life, but it’s not a big deal until you get punched and reality sets in.
“Jake Paul did a great job of promoting himself, promoting this fight, and evoking human emotion. I think he’s going to be a great promoter in the future. We had all these great matches on the undercard and all the female fighters got a chance to shine. And I thought, ‘I know, you’re doing your job, everyone’s talking about you.’
Anthony Joshua punches Jake Paul during heavyweight boxing match
Will that “reality check” hit Paul this time?
“Jake Paul did this on the world stage, so all the things he said he would do before, all the boasting, all the promises he made to himself, now he feels what a normal fighter would feel: the embarrassment, the discomfort of the reality of what actually happened to him.
Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul during the heavyweight bout
“So do you think he can get to that (world) level one day? No, I don’t. Do you think he’s a domestic-level fighter? Yes, I think so. Now that he’s making bold demands like, ‘I want to fight Anthony Joshua’ and ‘I want to fight Canelo,’ I think he’ll think long and hard about it.”
“He’s put himself in a position where he can generate interest going into the game, but really now he’s just showing his level as well.
“He went in there and got a reality check. And it was a serious reality check.”
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Anthony Joshua is calling for a blockbuster showdown with Tyson Fury, who beat Jake Paul. Video provided by Netflix and MVP. Jake vs Joshua is now available worldwide exclusively on Netflix
Was Joshua impressed with you?
“Anthony Joshua could not have done anything better.
“When you get in the ring with someone who’s always trying to survive and escape, there’s nothing you can do about it.
“Our sport is made up of journeymen like Jake Paul. He’s trying to survive, but he’s not trying to get involved. So it’s your job to cut him down and catch up.”
“Joshua was under a lot of criticism because this guy didn’t come to engage. If he had come to engage, it would have been a completely different story.”
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Tyson Fury took to social media to launch a furious attack on Anthony Joshua ahead of AJ and Jake Paul’s fight
Do you think we’ll see Fury vs. Joshua in 2026?
“We’ve been through it every year – ‘It could happen, it could happen.’
“This is the biggest fight in the world right now, and neither of these two men have a world title.
“This is the biggest fight, but until one of them says, ‘Yes, we talked, it’s a done deal,’ I won’t believe it.
“I think it’s hot air.”
